President Trump’s initial FY26 budget, released today, proposed to dramatically reduce non-defense discretionary investments, where workforce development and other domestic program funding is derived, by $1.63 billion or 22.6% overall. The budget proposes to increase defense spending by 13% and further proposes a 65% percent increase in funding for the Department of Homeland Security. This proposal now goes to Capitol Hill to be considered by the Appropriations Committees.
This initial release from the Administration does not include significant details regarding program-level funding, which is expected to be provided at a later date. Nevertheless, the high-level information released today indicates that the President is proposing a $4.6 billion reduction in funding for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)—a 35% cut over currently enacted levels.
Throughout the budget request, a significant amount of program elimination or consolidation has been proposed. As part of these components of the budget, the Administration is proposing to create a new consolidated workforce grant program dubbed “Make America Skilled Again” (MASA) which would combine a number of existing workforce development programs into a single programmatic grant. The budget request indicates that the total amount for these grants would reduce current funding levels overall by $1.64 billion.
Current FY25 funding for workforce development programs under Title I of WIOA is currently $5.67 billion, meaning that MASA likely represents a roughly 29% reduction in the federal investment for a number of workforce development programs under this portion of the budget. The budget request provides the following information and related justification for MASA:
“Consistent with the Administration’s efforts to promote the full range of post-secondary education and training options, the Budget proposes to give States and localities the flexibility to spend workforce dollars to best support their workers and economies, instead of funneling taxpayer dollars to progressive non-profits finding work for illegal immigrants or focusing on DEI. Under the last administration, these grant programs funded things such as: certifying Minnesota employers that were ‘committed to advancing DEI in their workplace cultures and communities’; promoting the hiring of illegal aliens and migrants; sometimes providing them subsidized housing in addition to a job; and green jobs in California. States would now have more control and flexibility to coordinate with employers and would have to spend at least 10 percent of their MASA grant on apprenticeship, a proven model that trains workers while they earn a paycheck and offers a valuable alternative to college.”
In addition, the budget request proposes to completely eliminate Job Corps, the Senior Community Service Employment Program, and Adult Education funding under Title II of WIOA.
A high-level overview of this initial budget request can be found here, while a slightly more detailed version of the request can be accessed here .
NAWB will continue to advocate for the highest possible funding levels and to try to learn more about the proposed consolidation. We encourage our members to contact Congress (per our Policy Alert from earlier this week) to urge them to prioritize funding for workforce development.
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